Privacy Policy (2023)
WHO WE ARE
Fix It Therapy Rehab Services offers massage therapy services to the general public. We are staffed by Registered Massage Therapists.
Privacy of personal information is an important principle to Above &Beyond Massage Therapy Clinic.We are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the goods and services we provide.
As a health care provider I must collect a certain amount of personal information from you in order to safely treat you. It is extremely important that this information be collected responsibly and that it only be disclosed to other individuals under appropriate circumstances. This document details your rights and how I protect your personal information.
What is personal information?
Personal information is information about identifiable individuals. It includes information that relates to:
an individual’s personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age, income, home address or telephone number, ethnic background, family status);
health (e.g., health history, health conditions, health services received by them);
activities and views (e.g., opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation of an individual).
Personal information is different from business information (e.g., an individual’s business address and telephone number). This is not protected by privacy legislation.
WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION: PRIMARY PURPOSES
Like all medical professions, we collect, use and disclose personal information in order to serve our clients. For our clients, the primary purpose for collecting personal information is to provide treatment. For example, we collect information about a client’s health history, including their family history, physical condition, function and social situation in order to help us assess what their health needs are, to advise them of their options and then to provide the health care they choose to have. A second primary purpose is to obtain a baseline of health and social information so that in providing on going health services we can identify changes that occur over time.
WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION: RELATED AND SECONDARY PURPOSES
Like most organizations, we also collect, use and disclose information for purposes related to or secondary to our primary purposes. The most common examples of our related and secondary purposes are as follows:
To invoice clients for goods or services that was not paid for at the time (e.g., motor vehicle accident insurance, private insurance, gift certificates)
Our clinic reviews clients and other files for the purpose of ensuring that we provide high quality services, including assessing the performance of our staff. In addition, external consultants (e.g., auditors, practice consultants) may on our behalf do audits and continuing quality improvement reviews of our Clinic, including reviewing client files and interviewing our staff.
Registered Massage Therapists are regulated by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO). The CMTO may inspect our records and interview our staff as a part of their regulatory activities in the public interest. In addition, as professionals, we will report serious misconduct, incompetence or incapacity of other practitioners, whether they belong to other organizations or our own. Also, our organization believes that it should report information suggesting serious illegal behavior to the authorities. External regulators have their own strict privacy obligations. Sometimes these reports include personal information about our clients, or other individuals, to support the concern (e.g., Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Information and Privacy Commissioner, Human Rights Commission, etc.) have the authority to review our files and interview our staff as a part of their mandates. In these circumstances, we may consult with professionals (e.g., Lawyers, Accountants) who will investigate the matter and report back to us.
The cost of goods/services provided by the organization to clients is often paid for by third parties (e.g., motor vehicle accident insurance, private insurance). These third party payers often have the client’s consent or legislative authority to direct us to collect and disclose to them certain information in order to demonstrate client entitlement to this funding.
Clients or other individuals we deal with may have questions about our goods or services after they have been received. We retain our client information for a mandatory minimum of ten years after the last contact to enable us to respond to those questions and provide these services.
Who can see your health information?
You can look at your Information:
With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what personal information we hold about you. Often all you have to do is ask. We can help you identify what records we might have about you. We will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with access. We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests. If there is a problem we may ask you to put your request in writing. If we cannot give you access, we will tell you within 30 days if at all possible and tell you the reason, as best we can, as to why we cannot give you access.
If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions we may have formed. We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are wrong. Where we agree that we made a mistake, we will make the correction and notify anyone to whom we sent this information. If we do not agree that we made a mistake, we will still agree to include our file in a brief statement from you on the point and we will forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.
You may also have family or friends to whom you would like me to give more detailed information about your health, like how your treatment is working or what kind of care you will need at home. You can let me know if I can discuss your health with family and friends. I must have your consent in order to do so.
When Your Consent is Not Required
I am allowed or may be required to use and/or give out some of your personal health information without your consent in situations as required by law. These situations include legal proceedings, criminal investigations, medical emergencies, and serious medical situations such as reporting certain types of abuse to the authorities orreport certain diseases to public health authorities.
I am also required to release private health information for the purposes of peer assessment. Peer assessments are done with all Massage Therapists in the province on a regular basis, to insure we are providing quality care and following all regulations. The assessor is also an RMT and required to keep all information learned in the assessment confidential, except for required reporting to the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario.
Marketing and Personal Information
Your personal information will never be provided to anyone outside the clinic for marketing purposes.
Security
I understand the importance of protecting your personal information. For that reason, I have taken the following steps:
Paper information is either under supervision or secured in a locked cabinet.
Computers and backups are under supervision or secure in a locked or restricted area at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers, and screens are locked when they are not in use.
cellphone has password.
Electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line, or has identifiers removed, or is encrypted.
External consultants and agencies with access to personal information must enter into privacy agreements with us.
Retention of Personal Information
I am required to retain personal information for some time to ensure that I can answer any question you may have about the services provided and for my own accountability to the Collect of Massage Therapists (CMTO).
Massage client files are retained for 10 years, as required by the CMTO.
I destroy paper files containing personal information by shredding. I destroy electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, physically destroying the hard drive.
Viewing your own personal information
With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what personal information I hold about you. I will try to help you understand any information that may be unclear (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). If you would like a copy of your personal information, please make your request in writing. I reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests.
Some exceptions may apply. For example, when the information relates to law enforcement, legal proceedings or another individual, you may not get to see the record.
I must respond to your request as soon as possible and within 30 days. There may be a delay if I have to ask others about your records or if it will take time to find the record. You have the right to be notified of such delays. If you require the record urgently, please let me know and I will do my best to get it to you.
If you believe there is a mistake in your information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. You must make this request in writing, stating specifically what in your record is incorrect or incomplete.
Do note that I cannot correct a record that was created by someone else as I do not know enough about the record to change it. Also, I cannot correct details where, for example, the opinions or observations in the record were made in good faith. You are entitled to be told the reasons for not making a correction and of your right to have a statement of disagreement attached to your records. You can also ask to have this statement made available to those who see the record.
If I correct a record, it must be done carefully so that the full corrected record remains visible or by ensuring that the corrected version is readily available.
Questions?
If you would like further information, you can contact the information officer (Ben Porcelli RMT). I would be happy to discuss any questions or concerns you may have. If you have a formal complaint to make concerning my privacy practices, you should contact me in writing. My address is:
Ben Porcelli c/o Fix It Therapy Rehab Services
60 Disera Dr.Suite 506
Thornhill, Ontario L4J 9G1
I will respond to your concerns promptly. If after discussing the issue with me, I am still not able to resolve your complaint or concern, you have the right to make a formal complaint.
If you wish to make a formal complaint about our Privacy Practices, you may make it in writing to me. I will acknowledge receipt of your complaint; ensure that it is investigated promptly and that you are provided with a formal written decision with reasons.
If you have a concern about the professionalism or competence of our services or the mental or physical capacity of any of our professional staff we would ask you to discuss those concerns with us. However, if we cannot satisfy your concerns, you are entitled to complain to our regulatory body:
College of Massage Therapy of Ontario
1867 Yonge Street, Suite 810
Toronto, ON M4S 1Y5
416-489-2626
1-800-465-1933
Fax: 416-489-2625
www.cmto.com
If after discussing the issue with me, I am still not able to resolve your complaint or concern, you have the right to make a formal complaint to the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. This must be done within one year of the matter you are complaining about. Their office can be reached at:
Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8
Telephone: 416 326 3333
or 1 800 387 0073
Facsimile: 416 325 9195
TTY: 416 325 7539
Website: www.ipc.on.ca
Email address: info@ipc.on.ca